Brain parcellation driven by dynamic functional connectivity better capture intrinsic network dynamics

Until now, dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) based on functional magnetic resonance imaging is typically estimated on a set of predefined regions of interest (ROIs) derived from an anatomical or static functional atlas which follows an implicit assumption of functional homogeneity within ROIs underlying temporal fluctuation of functional coupling, potentially leading to biases or underestimation of brain network dynamics. Here, we presented a novel computational method based on dynamic functional connectivity degree (dFCD) to derive meaningful brain parcellations that can capture functional homogeneous regions in temporal variance of functional connectivity. Several spatially distributed but functionally meaningful areas that are well consistent with known intrinsic connectivity networks were identified through independent component analysis (ICA) of time-varying dFCD maps. Furthermore, a systematical comparison with commonly used brain atlases, including the Anatomical Automatic Labeling template, static ICA-driven parcellation and random parcellation, demonstrated that the ROI-definition strategy based on the proposed dFC-driven parcellation could better capture the interindividual variability in dFC and predict observed individual cognitive performance (e.g., fluid intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and sustained attention) based on chronnectome. Together, our findings shed new light on the functional organization of resting brains at the timescale of seconds and emphasized the significance of a dFC-driven and voxel-wise functional homogeneous parcellation for network dynamics analyses in neuroscience.

Automated summary

A new computational method based on dynamic functional connectivity degree (dFCD) was proposed to derive brain parcellations capturing functional homogeneous regions. The method showed better capability in capturing interindividual variability in functional connectivity and predicting individual cognitive performance compared to commonly used brain atlases. The study also emphasized the importance of dFC-driven and voxel-wise functional homogeneous parcellation for network dynamics analyses in neuroscience.